Madly occurs in an alternate contemporary universe where alchemy and magic co-exists with modern technology. When the princess of the realm poisons herself with a self-administered love potion, the royal family calls upon every alchemist in the land to develop a cure — which includes Samantha Kemi, the latest alchemist in the long line of the famous (but now disgraced) Kemi Alchemists. Gifted at her work and possessing a true affinity for alchemy, Sam is keen to participate… but encounters a few barriers:

Her grandfather resents the royal family for a long-ago betrayal of the Kemi Family, and because of this longstanding grudge, refuses to help the princess. This means Sam is unable (at first) to participate in Auden’s Hunt.

The Kemi Family lack the funds and many of the material resources to travel around the world in order to retrieve the ingredients for the remedial potion. This is in direct contrast with the most well-known competitors, the corporate magical alchemists (I can’t believe I just wrote that phrase…), ZoroAster Corporation.

Sam has a crush on her fiercest competitor… who was the intended object of the Royal Princess’ love potion.

Madly read like a fantastical version of the reality show The Amazing Race. But in this version, contestants race against time around the globe to retrieve magical ingredients for an alchemical concoction while the princess slowly – and then quickly – goes mad. Parts of the novel that pertain to the Auden’s Hunt were absolutely convincing and enjoyable: The reader has no doubt of the realm being in danger, or of Sam’s new found resourcefulness in retrieving magical items from remote locations.

However, the romance is really forced. And while the romance between Sam and her crush, Zain Aster, contains pivotal plot points (especially for the Princess’ eventual recovery), the supposed rapport between the two characters felt stilted and odd. At times, I found myself a) not believing the romance, and b) giving no cares at all for happy ending between these two. Overall, though, the premise of the novel was fresh and original, the pacing was strong, and the secondary characters are a delight to read.

Excitement Level: Three stars.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. I checked this book out from the local library, and reviewed it on my own.